Destination: National Park of Messolonghi

The ‘National Park of Messolonghi and Etoliko lagoons’ is located at the southwest tip of Sterea Ellada at the spot where the gulf of Patras meets the Ionian Sea and Evinos and Acheloos Rivers flow into. This lagoon is the biggest in Greece and one of the biggest in the Mediterranean Europe. The wider area includes overlands, lagoon lands, and river lands of the south part of Etoloakarnania Province as well as the complex of Ehinades islands of Kefallinia Prefecture. The diversity of the formations at this coastal ecosystem has favored the development of a variety of different organisms living in the sea and the land.
The substances carried by Evinos River in comparison to the sea water, have created a wetland composed of extended marshes, reed groves, salty marshes, straw lands and narrow stripes of land. The presence of sand dunes that cover a large area is really significant since they constitute natural dam against the salty water and also contribute to prevent the coastal zone’s erosion.
The Lagoon is a wetland that is listed among the 11 most significant wetlands worldwide, protected by the treaty Ramsar. Here have been recorded more than 200 different bird species many of which are rare or under extinction. Moreover, many migratory birds use the lagoon to rest or find food on their way towards the hotter, southern climates. Two of the most characteristic species are the Slender-billed Gull and the Wild Ducks whose population gets constantly lower due to the lake’s drainage and the illegal hunting.